If You Want Something Done, Find That Person And Tell Them Directly

“I often tell people that if somebody cites me as the reason for doing something, they should throw them out of the office. If I want somebody to do something, I will personally find them and tell them.

“I think people also overestimate their ability to be understood. The first step is to get somebody to understand what you’re saying. The next step is to get them to accept it. And then the ultimate step is to get them to act on it.”

Trefler says Pegasystems, a business technology company, doesn’t rely on formal authority. He believes everyone in the company should have informed opinion, one that is unique or complementary to the opinion of others, and that “it had better not be the same opinion as everybody else’s.”

Patricia Laya is an intern for The Business Insider’s strategy section, War Room. She is a senior majoring in Business Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Patricia has interned at Bloomberg News and El Nacional, one of Venezuela’s leading newspapers. She was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela.